Arlaine Rockey is known as an attorney who pays attention to details, investigates all the facts, explores all the evidence, has worked with numerous expert witnesses, is empathetic to her clients’ situations, is creative in finding solutions, and in court is tenacious and undaunted in representing her clients. Ms. Rockey has been practicing law since 1989. She was inspired to attend law school because she wanted to help battered women.

Law School

At the University of Miami School of Law, she completed a Summer Honors Program in Children and the Law, during which she became a Guardian ad Litem for children in foster care Juvenile Court cases. Ms. Rockey was the President of the Association for Women Law Students for two years. She was a clinical law student intern in her last year at the Miami State Attorney’s Office, doing traffic cases and also working in the Domestic Crimes Unit, helping with the prosecution of domestic violence cases, which was then one of only five such divisions in the country. The founder and head of that unit became her mentor and lifelong friend.

First Decade of Law Practice

After graduation, Ms. Rockey’s first job was in the Juvenile Unit at Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. where she represented children, many teenagers, who were in foster care in multiple forums: in their Juvenile Court cases; in schools with regard to their special education needs (attending IEP meetings and advocating for needed services); and in mental health cases when they were committed to psychiatric inpatient hospitalization and with reference to finding them appropriate therapeutic placement and services. Ms. Rockey also separately worked on the grassroots effort that helped lead to the Florida Bar’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program for public interest attorneys. Assistance with law school loan payments is a way (nationally, per state) to encourage new lawyers to accept low-paying but critical Legal Aid/Legal Services jobs representing low-income people for free in certain types of cases (set by each non-profit law office).

Ms. Rockey joined Legal Services of Southern Piedmont (“LSSP”) in Charlotte in 1993 and was the Family Law Team Leader for their three offices until 1999. She represented battered women in domestic violence protective order cases and in child custody cases, many that also involved proving child physical and/or sexual abuse as well. These women are known now as Protective Mothers. She is now in her fourth decade of representing Protective Mothers. Ms. Rockey also represented many parents in DSS / CPS Juvenile Court cases involving abuse, neglect, substance abuse, and mental health issues.

While at LSSP, Ms. Rockey helped get the Standby Guardianship Law enacted with another lawyer from the then Children’s Law Center. At the time, AIDS had been a fatal illness and the epidemic had been destroying families (biological and families of choice) for a decade. Ms. Rockey found out that her best friend from law school had AIDS. She felt helpless to do anything to save him. She found out that many children were being orphaned when their parents died from AIDS and also that their parents needed help to care for their children at times they were very ill, so their children would not end up in foster care. Ms. Rockey decided to work on the Standby Guardianship legislation as a way to do something positive. Ms. Rockey and others spoke to the General Assembly, built a large coalition of support, and drafted the legislation, which passed (NCGS §35A-1370 et seq.).

At LSSP, Ms. Rockey also started the first pro se custody clinic in Charlotte to help people, with relatively simple cases who could not afford to hire an attorney, do their own custody cases. Now, people can get help and fill-in forms via the “SelfServe Center” website at the Charlotte Courthouse.

She also started a legal clinic at the Courthouse to help battered women get their domestic violence protective orders themselves because there were not enough free (pro bono) lawyers to represent them all. Ms. Rockey also co-wrote the screenplays for and helped get produced two training videos regarding domestic violence protective orders, one for the pro se plaintiffs and another to train volunteer lawyers to represent many of them.

Making Marital Rape Illegal

In 1991, Ms. Rockey moved back home to Charlotte, NC, where she was in private practice, solo and then with her sister, who is also a lawyer. While studying for the NC Bar exam, Ms. Rockey had learned that marital rape was still legal in North Carolina, meaning that husbands could not be prosecuted for sexually assaulting their wives if it occurred prior to their separation (and most did). Sexual abuse is frequently a type of domestic violence.

Soon after Ms. Rockey was admitted to the NC Bar, in the fall of 1991, Ms. Rockey started what became a statewide umbrella grassroots organization, ARMR, that was successful in eliminating the marital rape exemption in 1993, after an 18 month exhaustive two-pronged effort. The first avenue was seeking legislative reform in the NC General Assembly. Ms. Rockey co-chaired the statewide non-partisan ARMR organization and chaired the litigation committee.

In conjunction with what was then the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund, ARMR at the same time was also preparing a class action lawsuit to challenge the marital rape exemption in court, based on Ms. Rockey’s legal theory that the rape victims could challenge the constitutionality of the exemption on equal protection grounds because, in this situation, prosecutors had no discretion whether or not to prosecute — the exemption was a complete bar to prosecution. ARMR let it be known to the General Assembly that should the legislative repeal effort not succeed, ARMR was prepared to literally make it a federal case, as an added incentive for legislators to do the right thing.

Ms. Rockey and many others testified in the General Assembly. She spoke to various groups, like the NC Conference of District Attorneys to get them on board, which was not that easy at a time before there were specialized Domestic Violence (“DV”) prosecution units in any law enforcement office or agency in North Carolina. Ms. Rockey also wrote editorials, was interviewed by various media organizations, and helped build a broad statewide ARMR coalition. Due to her critical Charlotte Observer editorial of the Mecklenburg (Charlotte) District Attorney’s office, prior to the meeting with all head D.A.s above, in which she explained ways to prosecute DV cases, even with an uncooperative (ie, generally scared) victims, the head D.A. invited her to meet with him. She brought in religious communities and all the women who were in the General Assembly (Democrat and Republican) to support the legislation.

The marital rape exemption was based on the “Unity Theory” of British Common Law — when a man and a woman married, they became one legal entity — the man — and the woman ceased to exist legally. (The continued use and enforcement, per laws based upon it, of the Common Law in the United States is proof that women have been historically discriminated against and is one reason why they must be deemed worthy under the ERA as a “suspect class” of people by all courts and given the highest “strict scrutiny” review). The marital rape exemption was a “logical” extension of the Unity Theory, as a man could not be prosecuted for raping himself. It is hard to describe just how difficult it was to get the strong majority male General Assembly to repeal this archaic law. In an earlier attempt at repeal, one male NC legislator quipped, “If a man can’t rape his wife, who can he rape?” When Ms. Rockey began ARMR, she was told by many people that she could not succeed. Seeing the marital rape exemption repealed (NCGS §14-27.34) on July 5th, 1993 [see photo at the bottom of this page] remains her most impactful accomplishment to date, although she is currently working to top it with her work on getting the ERA recognized by the courts and published in the U.S. Constitution as the 28th Amendment.

A Film about

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“The First Suffragist”

While working on the NC marital rape reform, Ms. Rockey was inspired to persevere by reading the autobiography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who read law in her father’s law office and who started the first women’s rights movement in1848 by holding the Seneca Falls, NY, Women’s Rights Convention. Elizabeth was literally the first suffragist. She and her closest friend, Susan B. Anthony, led the movement and the push for the right to vote for women for over 50 years! Neither of them lived to see the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, over 100 years ago.

Elizabeth has been overshadowed in history by Susan because Elizabeth was “too radical, even in a radical movement.” In 2015, Ms. Rockey started researching original materials regarding Elizabeth and the first women’s rights movement. Then, Arlaine wrote a screenplay for the first biopic movie about “Elizabeth Cady Stanton - The First Suffragist.” You can read more about it at Attorney-Author.com/ecs.

Equal Rights for Women

In June, 2020, Ms. Rockey co-wrote an Amicus Brief for a federal case [“Equal Means Equal, et al. v. Ferriero,” the Archivist (“EME Case”)] seeking to have the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”) officially published in the U.S. Constitution as the 28th Amendment, as it was finally ratified by the necessary 38 states, but the Archivist was originally blocked by Trump/Barr Department of Justice (“DOJ”).

Virginia was the 38th, the last necessary state to ratify the ERA on January 27, 2020, which is the date the ERA legally became the 28th Amendment, because the Constitutional requirements in Article V were complete that day.

Publication was blocked by Pres. Biden’s DOJ in Court, and Pres. Biden refused to direct the Archivist to publish the ERA, officially as the 28th Amendment, even though his DOJ conceded that the act of publishing it doesn’t make the ERA more or less valid because it automatically became part of the Constitution on 1/27/20 (or it didn’t, if the deadline, that was not included in the text of the ERA sent to the states, was constitutional). However, the ERA Resolution, which placed the text of what should become the ERA at the bottom of that document, but the so-called deadline was only in the Resolving Clause and was not included in the proposed text of the ERA. The text is what states decide whether or not to ratify; thus, the so-called deadline cannot be enforced constitutionally, because it was legally void.

The Trump DOJ originally, and the Biden DOJ both (representing the Archivist) fought to prevent women from finally having equal rights guaranteed by the Constitution. There were two federal cases filed against the Archivist, the EME case and a case by the last three states to ratify it. Neither case obtained an order forcing the Archivist to publish the ERA, based on technical legal grounds.

In July, 2020, Ms. Rockey filed an Amended Amicus Brief adding additional amici. The trial courts in both federal cases dismissed them for lack of standing. The EME case went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to hear it directly, but they sent it back to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Rockey filed another Amicus Brief in the Supreme Court and, in December, 2020, another one (with 86 Amici) in the First Circuit, which approved the dismissal of the EME Case.

Ms. Rockey was also involved in the national effort to get President Biden to direct the U.S. Archivist to do what he should have done in January 2021, via the National ERA Publication Task Force and Equal Means Equal, because every President has a Constitutional duty (Art. II, §3) to take care that the laws are faithfully carried out. He has the Constitutional DUTY to make sure they are faithfully carried out and followed: the ERA, now legally in the Constitution (the highest law in the country) and the law (1 U.S. Code §106b), which orders the Archivist to publish Amendments, that have been ratified by 3/4 of the states. However, Pres. Biden failed direct his Executive Branch employee, the Archivist, to follow the law and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment in the Constitution for his entire four years in office!

Pres. Biden knew the ERA could have prevented the Supreme Court from overturning Roe v. Wade, and even after Dobbs came down, he knew that the ERA will protect all Reproductive Rights and many LGBT Rights in both state and federal cases. The ERA is also be a basis for Dobbs to be overturned, because the ERA does provide a “Textual” basis for Reproductive Rights and it was legally in the Constitution (and effective by its own terms on 1/27/22) after the oral argument in Dobbs on 12/1/21, but before the Dobbs decision was released on 6/24/22. In other words, Pres. Biden knowingly allowed the national chaos caused by the Dobbs case to occur, and even used it to garner votes for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections.

Women will not stop fighting for equal rights. You can learn more about the ERA lawsuit and the other efforts here in Ms. Rockey’s Equal Rights for Women Blog, or at EqualMeansEqual.org. Since Spring of 2023, Ms. Rockey has been a Legal Advisor to Equal Means Equal. Please watch its President’s, ERA advocate extraordinaire Kamala Lopez’s, ERA award-winning 2016 documentary, “Equal Means Equal” that was used to help her and her and EME to get the last three necessary states to ratify the ERA and to grow the movement. That film is now streaming on demand, including on Amazon Prime.

Read more on the Equality for Women ERA Legal Blog linked in the menu.

A National Law Practice

Since 1999, Ms. Rockey has been in private practice, doing many of the same types of cases she did at LSSP, as well as criminal defense cases. Since 2002, she has been representing parents trying to protect their children from physical and/or sexual abuse and domestic violence (called “protective parents”) nationally. There are not many attorneys who focus on representing protective parents. These parents, who are most often mothers, have a tremendously difficult time protecting their children in the family court system. The patterns are the same all over the country. See Ms. Rockey’s article, “Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse” that explains the complicated issues in these cases, and also provides some strategy suggestions for all protective parents in custody cases. Ms. Rockey handled custody cases for Protective Mothers (and two fathers) all over North Carolina and Florida, where she is licensed to practice law, and also in other states with in-state co-counsel, so she can come into the cases pro hac vice. Now, she is a Legal Consultant to attorneys for Protective Mothers nationally. In her direct representation, she is focusing on cases that can use the Equal Rights Amendment for justice for Protective Mothers in her direct representation. [She is also focusing on getting her Elizabeth Cady Stanton movie made].

In part due to her Legal Services background, Ms. Rockey has written many articles over the years to help people understand the law. She has two additional articles that can help any litigant in a Custody, Domestic Violence Protective Order, or DSS / CPS case, prepare for their cases: “How to Prepare for Your Consultation,” which includes important information to include in writing a detailed history of your case, including the facts, evidence and witnesses, and “Gathering Evidence.” Her article, “Protecting your Child from Sexual Abuse in Custody Cases” also includes information that is relevant to cases involving child physical abuse and domestic violence for any protective parent. For more information on the types of cases Ms. Rockey does, click Practice Areas. To ask Ms. Rockey for a consultation or to consider representing you, click Contact & Consultation. If you are interested in having Ms. Rockey speak to your group or conference or to request permission to re-post her articles in full, email her at AttorneyRockey@gmail.com. Feel free to link to any parts of this website.

Education

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor, 1989

Activities and Honors:

• Editorial Board, Entertainment & Sports Law Review

• President, Association for Women Law Students, 1987-88, 1988-89

• Staff writer, Res Ipsa Loquitur, law school newspaper

• Society of Bar & Gavel

• 1987 Summer Honors Research Program, "Children and the Law"

UNC-CHAPEL HILL
B.A., English, 1984

Activities:

• Staff writer, The Daily Tarheel, student newspaper

• Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority

CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
Graduated, 1980

Public Speaking

Lecturer, (1993-present)

Issues regarding domestic violence, custody, legal services for the poor, marital rape reform, the Equal Rights Amendment, and her writing. Arlaine has spoken to classes and groups at UNC-CH School of Law, Duke University School of Law, NC State University, UNC-Charlotte, and the University of Miami School of Law, Committees of the NC General Assembly, professional organizations, and companies.

Continuing Legal Education Lecturer (1993-present)

Issues regarding domestic violence protection order cases and custody cases. (Charlotte, Wilmington, and Asheville, NC).

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1989

• North Carolina, 1991

• District of Columbia, 1992 (resigned with ability to reinstate)

• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1990

• United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina, 1991

• United States District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, 2016

• United States Supreme Court, 2020

• First Circuit Court of Appeals, 2020

  Activities & Affiliations

• Equal Means Equal, Legal Advisor (2023-present)

• ERA-NC Alliance (2023-present)

• National ERA Publication Task Force (2021-present)

• Watauga County Bar Association (2017-2019)

• 35th N.C. Judicial District Bar (2003-present)

• N.C. Bar Association (2002-2004, 2005-2006)

• N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers (2001-2002)

• Mecklenburg County Women's Commission, Volunteer, Legal Clinic (2002)

• Hate Crimes Working Group, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of NC (1998-99)

• Mecklenburg County NC Domestic Violence Advocacy Council (1993-99)

• Union County NC Domestic Violence Advocacy Council (1998)

• Mecklenburg County American Civil Liberties Union (Board Member 1997-98)

• NC Association of Women Attorneys (Board Member 1994)

• Mecklenburg County Bar (1991-2002)

• Association for the Reform of N.C. Marital Rape Laws (“ARMR”), Founder/State Co-chair (1991-93)

• Dade County FL Coalition Against Domestic Violence (1989-91)

• Guardian ad Litem for children in foster care, Dade County, FL (1987-88)

• Volunteer Court Advocate, Battered Women's Shelter, Charlotte, NC (1986)

• Volunteer, My Sister’s Place Battered Women's Shelter, Washington, DC (1985-86)